Co.DesignInspiring stories about innovation and business, seen through the lens of design.//www.fastcodesign.com
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Inspiring stories about innovation and business, seen through the lens of design.4848Dynamic Duos: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg And Kate Aronowitz On Social Design<p><strong>Mark Zuckerberg,</strong> cofounder and CEO<br />
<strong>Kate Aronowitz,</strong> director of brand design</p>
<p>Few people can claim they worked their way up from Photoshopping abs onto male models in muscle mags to leading the creative team for one of the world's most famous companies. Facebook's Kate Aronowitz is one of them. Perhaps that post-college (Savannah College of Art and Design) position among the spray tans and nutritional supplements was vital strength training: Though Aronowitz was lured to Silicon Valley just as the first Internet boom went bust, she managed to land a job at eBay before sidestepping to LinkedIn as head designer.</p>
<aside class="note "><div class="note-inner"><hgroup></hgroup><p>Check out all of our dynamic duos <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019702/design-50/the-best-ceo-designer-duos-part-i-of-ii" target="_self">here</a> and <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3020120/design-50/the-best-ceo-designer-duos-part-ii" target="_self">here</a>.</p></div></aside>
<p>Five years ago, she received the unexpected call from Facebook that changed her life. After talking with a potential colleague at the social network about how "beautiful design is something that people don't even notice," Aronowitz was smitten, she <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669610/kate-aronowitz-facebooks-design-director-on-crafting-a-design-led-organization" target="_self">told Co.Design </a>.</p>
<p>And she already knew how CEO Zuckerberg prioritized the design function in his organization—an element of the company's success that's ever more crucial today. "Designers have a say, not just in the products we're working on, but in how Facebook on the whole will evolve over the years," <a href="http://www.core77.com/blog/business/designing_delight_behind_the_scenes_at_facebook_by_kate_aronowitz_23558.asp" target="_blank">she's said</a>.</p>
<p><strong>DESIGN ACROSS DEPARTMENTS</strong></p>
<p>Design has become inseparable from the larger user experience, and Zuckerberg's commitment to it—to Aronowitz—is a driving force for Facebook. "When the founder is still there," the designer <a href="http://www.core77.com/blog/business/designing_delight_behind_the_scenes_at_facebook_by_kate_aronowitz_23558.asp" target="_blank">has said</a>, "the mission is still extremely present."<br />
<aside class="pullquote"><q>I'm not there to design for myself. I like design with purpose.</q></aside></p>
<p>Aronowitz built a team of 120 people. The team, now run by their individual design managers, pairs with engineers or product managers to build a design perspective into the original generation of ideas, so that they're always informed by look-and-feel as they evolve into new products or improvements on existing features. In other words, she's no diva of a designer, and sharing credit across departments is an ethos Aronowitz shares with the CEO. (Note how data visualizer Nicholas Felton was lionized by Zuck for essentially originating the streamlined Timeline.)</p>
<p>"I'm not there to design for myself," Aronowitz <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669610/kate-aronowitz-facebooks-design-director-on-crafting-a-design-led-organization" target="_self">told Co.Design</a>. Indeed, she's known for her pragmatism and is ever conscious of the creative's collaborative role in building the business. "I like design with purpose."</p>
<p>At Facebook, that purpose, of course, is keeping up with the lives of others, a drive that Zuckerberg <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerbergs-8th-grade-speech-2011-6#ixzz2etK7W1q5" target="_blank">has said</a> is "hardwired into us in a deeper way. You really want to know what's going on with the people around you." He's even <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerbergs-8th-grade-speech-2011-6#ixzz2etK7W1q5" target="_blank">gone so far as to say</a> that "great friendships are what makes life a lot of fun and meaningful."</p>
<p><strong>MAINTAIN THE HUMAN CONNECTION</strong></p>
<p>Aronowitz is steadfast in her belief that Facebook was one of the first dot-coms to put a premium on design. It is, after all, the human way into a product. "Facebook was built on the idea of putting people at the center of everything, of human-to-human interaction," <a href="http://www.core77.com/blog/business/designing_delight_behind_the_scenes_at_facebook_by_kate_aronowitz_23558.asp" target="_blank">she's said</a>. "We call this principle 'social design,' and it's the heart of everything we do here."</p>
<p>Zuckerberg clearly believes Aronowitz is at that heart, too. This summer he bumped her up to a new role, director of brand design. It's a sort of ambassadorship of design diplomacy, balancing Facebook's needs with those of its top 100 advertisers—the companies that keep the site afloat.</p>
<p>"What I'm excited to do coming from the product side of Facebook is build a bridge with our creative team [for] more understanding [of] how the product is built, how we think about it," she said about her promotion. She'll initially focus on luxury brands, which are ramping up their presence on the social network. It's clearly a welcome next step for the SCAD grad and fan of high fashion, <a href="http://" target="_blank"></a> her admiration for "The September Issue" breakout star Grace Coddington: "In another life, I'd love to have her job as the creative director of <em>Vogue</em>."</p>Mark Ellwoodhttp://www.fastcodesign.com/3018672http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018672/design-50/dynamic-duos-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-and-kate-aronowitz-on-social-design?partner=rss
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018672/design-50/dynamic-duos-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-and-kate-aronowitz-on-social-design?partner=rss#commentsMon, 18 Nov 2013 17:30 +0000Business Insiderco.design 50core77dot-comDynamic DuosfacebookGrace Coddingtonhuman-to-humanInternetKate AronowitzLinkedInluxury brandsMark Ellwoodmark zuckerbergNicholas FentonpeopleSavannah College of Art and Designsilicon valleysocial networktimelineVogueDesign 50Dynamic Duos: Twitter's Dick Costolo And Doug Bowman On Humanist Design<p><strong>Dick Costolo,</strong> CEO<br />
<strong>Doug Bowman, </strong>creative director</p>
<p>If a movie were made of Twitter CEO Dick Costolo's life, it's likely the onetime stand-up comedian would opt to play himself. His former cohort at Chicago's Second City, Steve Carell, would be a slam dunk for Twitter's head creative, Doug Bowman. The wry wit with a hesitant smile is the visionary tasked with taking the design of the microblogging platform into its next phase—a very public phase.</p>
<p>As his boss freely acknowledges, Bowman is one of the firm's most important employees. "Doug's sense of Twitter's look and feel is intuitive and clever," Costolo tells Co.Design. "I count on Doug to keep the user's perspective front and center."</p>
<p><strong>CHARACTER COUNTS</strong></p>
<p>And Bowman is committed to fully fleshing out these characters, well beyond 140: "We've got to remember our users are human beings," <a href="http://vimeo.com/72529370" target="_blank">he's said</a>. "They have emotions, insecurities, passions, and desires." The humanist designer is obsessed with delivering a positive experience to the people. "The power of delight is underutilized in our profession today—we are not delighting our users enough."</p>
<aside class="note "><div class="note-inner"><hgroup></hgroup><p>Check out all of our dynamic duos <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019702/design-50/the-best-ceo-designer-duos-part-i-of-ii" target="_self">here</a> and <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3020120/design-50/the-best-ceo-designer-duos-part-ii" target="_self">here</a>.</p></div></aside>
<p>The bringer of joy to those who tweet began his career helping shape <em>Wired</em>'s early digital interface and identity in the mid 1990s before becoming a highly in-demand freelance designer, hired by everyone from Capgemini to Cathay Pacific to produce sites and applications.</p>
<p>Google managed to convince Bowman to stay on full time after one of those consulting gigs. As the first "visual designer" at the then seven-year-old company, he spearheaded a cross-departmental examination that redefined the visual brand experience for the search giant. His disillusionment at its data-driven approach to design was evident (and widely noted) when Bowman announced a move from Google to a scrappier firm—Twitter.</p>
<p>"I had a recent debate over whether a border should be three, four, or five pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case. I can't operate in an environment like that," <a href="http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html" target="_blank">he explained at the time</a>, shifting his message from "Goodbye, Google" to <a href="http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/31/hello-twitter.html" target="_blank">"Hello, Twitter</a>": "I see lots of potential to directly impact and to help shape the Twitter brand."</p>
<p><strong>BIRDWATCH</strong></p>
<p>His new role was to include everything from design strategy to general UI changes, often steered by a careful sifting of the Twittersphere: Bowman regularly reads and analyzes tweets containing the phrases "wish Twitter had" or "wish Twitter would" to cull ideas from its users.</p>
<p>He even daringly meddled with the bird-in-the-hand of Twitter's logo, <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2012/06/08/twitter_bird/" target="_blank">calling the redesign</a> "the ultimate representation of freedom, hope, and limitless possibility." When he pointed out that the new bird was built on the geometry of overlapping circles (say, of interests, peers, friends, networks, etc.), the reference to a particular past employer was obvious.</p>
<p>It's easy to see how his playful jab would resonate with Costolo, whose debut tweet as an employee in September 2009 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dick-costolo-tweet-says-a-lot-about-him-2013-9" target="_blank">was the larkish</a> "First full day as Twitter COO tomorrow. Task #1: undermine CEO, consolidate power." Just over a year later, of course, he would indeed oust that CEO and take over the still-fledgling company.</p>
<p><strong>MICROBLOG, MACRO LEAPS</strong></p>
<p>The lanky, bald computer science grad says he often calls on his training in improv and comedy when managing the company. For example, <a href="http://upstart.bizjournals.com/multimedia/videos/2013/05/twitter-ceos-biz-lessons-from-the-improv.html" target="_blank">he has referenced</a> a director who chastised his troupe for going the lazy way, always setting sketches in apartments or laundromats, and called on them "to make bigger choices. Take courageous risks." Sure, that advice was originally intended to steer Costolo into being an astronaut or an elf on a dude ranch or something. But today, the same mantra helps him take macro leaps in the microblogging business. He even created—and still personally teaches—a management class for newly hired middle rankers that's aimed at making them challenge habits picked up at workplaces past.</p>
<p>That focus on people and their ability to transform (themselves, their industries, the Internet) in exciting ways is what binds Bowman and Costolo's visions so closely together. Or as the lead designer <a href="http://vimeo.com/72529370" target="_blank">has said,</a> "Showing people you're listening to them can turn around their perception of you."</p>
<p><strong>Read more pairings from <em>Fast Company</em>'s 10th Annual Innovation By Design issue:</strong> <br />
<ul>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016252/new-york-city-bloomberg-and-janette-sadik-khan" target="_self">Michael Bloomberg and Janette Sadik-Khan On The Future Of Walking, Biking, Driving</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016327/burberry-angela-ahrendts-and-christopher-bailey" target="_self">Burberry's Angela Ahrendts And Christopher Bailey On Trust</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016332/jawbone-hosain-rahman-and-yves-behar" target="_self">Jawbone's Hosain Rahman And Yves Béhar On The Power Of Trust</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016330/flipboard-mike-mcCue-and-marcos-weskamp" target="_self">Flipboard's Mike McCue and Marcos Weskamp On Spiraling Toward Solutions</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016310/pepsico-indra-nooyi-and-mauro-porcini" target="_self">PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi And Mauro Porcini On Design-Led Innovation</a></span></li>
<li><span>5 <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016313/design-50/dynamic-duos-5-brilliant-business-lessons-from-warby-parkers-ceos" target="_self">Brilliant Business Lessons From Warby Parker's CEOs</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019340/design-50/dynamic-duos-marriotts-arne-sorenson-and-hotelier-ian-schrager-on-marrying-busines" target="_self">Marriott's Arne Sorenson and Hotelier Ian Schrager On Marrying Business Cultures</a></span></li>
<li><span> <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018688/dynamic-duos-howard-schultz-and-arthur-rubinfeld-on-sharing-a-starbucks-order" target="_self">Howard Schultz and Arthur Rubinfeld On Sharing A Starbucks Order</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018685/design-50/dynamic-duos-herman-millers-brian-walker-and-don-goeman-on-unplanning-ideas" target="_self">Herman Miller's Brian Walker And Don Goeman On Unplanning Ideas</a></span></li>
<li><span> <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019637/design-50/dynamic-duos-don-thompson-and-melody-roberts-of-mcdonalds-on-serving-billions" target="_self">Don Thompson and Melody Roberts Of McDonald's On Serving Billions</a></span></li>
<li><span> <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019581/design-50/dynamic-duos-kerings-francois-henri-pinault-and-balenciagas-alexander-wang-on-hous" target="_self">Kering's François-Henri Pinault And Balenciaga's Alexander Wang On Housekeeping</a></span></li>
</ul></p>Mark Ellwoodhttp://www.fastcodesign.com/3019586http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019586/design-50/dynamic-duos-twitters-dick-costolo-and-doug-bowman-on-humanist-design?partner=rss
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019586/design-50/dynamic-duos-twitters-dick-costolo-and-doug-bowman-on-humanist-design?partner=rss#commentsTue, 29 Oct 2013 22:30 +0000dick costoloDoug BowmantwitterDesign 50Dynamic Duos: Don Thompson and Melody Roberts Of McDonald's On Serving Billions<p><strong>Don Thompson,</strong> CEO<br />
<strong>Melody Roberts,</strong> senior director, experience design innovation</p>
<p>It's an unlikely pairing: America's most prestigious design museum collaborating with the world's biggest burger-slinging chain. And yet, last year, New York's Cooper-Hewitt tapped Melody Roberts, one of McDonald's senior executives, to join its National Design Awards jury. The council of nine has included <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3007843/creative-conversations/how-jenna-lyons-transformed-jcrew-cult-brand" target="_self">Jenna Lyons</a>, Marissa Mayer, <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016332/jawbone-hosain-rahman-and-yves-behar" target="_self">Yves Béhar</a>, Martha Stewart, and Tim Gunn.</p>
<p>Reality-show reach aside, Roberts arguably has more influence in more households than any of the above. She's one of the most important senior figures driving the reinvention—the renaissance, really—of McDonald's in the last five years.</p>
<p><strong>FLIP THE BURGER PARADIGM</strong></p>
<p>That mission has been co-piloted by the cheery and refreshingly candid CEO Don Thompson. (His <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/business/11472239-420/new-mcdonalds-boss-is-a-fry-guy.html" target="_blank">reported</a> response when the company first headhunted him? "You got the wrong guy, because I'm not flipping hamburgers for anybody.")</p>
<p>At first glance, Roberts, too, is an unlikely member of Ronald's army: the Yale alumna was poached from elite design consultancy IDEO seven years ago. Now though, she leads teams at one of the most secretive, and important, programs at McDonald's, its Innovation Center. This 250,000-square-foot bunker with three kitchens, 135 dedicated employees, and zero windows is in a nondescript suburb of Romeoville, south of Chicago. Its nickname, Switzerland, is a tip-off to its true identity: Here, any McDonald's partner can come and try out new concepts in a completely neutral design environment. It was in this warehouse that the chain's new interiors—softer lighting, comfier seating, and a more grown-up, hangout-friendly vibe—were originally workshopped.</p>
<p>"People eat with their eyes first. If you have a restaurant that is appealing, contemporary, and relevant from both the street and the interior, the food tastes better," <a href="http://www.psfk.com/2010/09/mcdonalds-2011-2-4-billion-makeover.html" target="_blank">Thompson explained</a> when he announced the company's newfound focus on design three years ago. It was a $2.4 billion investment involving renovations to more than 2,000 sites and the construction of another 1,000.</p>
<p><strong>DON'T BE FOOLED BY LOOKALIKES</strong></p>
<p>Since that initiative began, McDonald's has, quite simply, relaxed, embracing rather than squelching differences. Perhaps most astonishingly, the signature red background on its golden arches logo has been replaced by green at times in Europe. There's no longer an identikit look for restaurants, according to Roberts. The emphasis is now on three core designs available to franchisees worldwide: a modernist 1950s-inspired version, a 1970s-style mansard roof café, and a sleek-lined, futuristic site.</p>
<p>Thompson has opened up all of this—well beyond menu or restaurant makeovers—to Roberts, acknowledging that her discipline shouldn't operate as a standalone silo in any major corporation. "Using design thinking across the organization requires figuring out what the organization needs to build and grow broadly, versus focusing on a design team," <a href="http://www.cooperhewitt.org/tags/melody-roberts" target="_blank">she's said</a>.</p>
<p><strong>SPRINKLE, SHAKE, SCAN IT UP</strong></p>
<p>Roberts <a href="http://designingforgrowthbook.com/category/mcdonalds/" target="_blank">has said</a> that she structured McDonald's innovation programs into 100-day "bursts," with ample breaks for analysis and downtime between each, explaining that the pacing "just seems to fit our natural human and social rhythms."</p>
<p>She and Thompson are casting around the firm's global network for initiatives that might be worth instituting company-wide, like the Shaker Fries that debuted in Asia with a sprinkle-to-taste packet of seasoning or McDelivery, a Seamless-style web order system. Hopefully, though, they're mulling importing an Australian advance, an app which allows customers to scan codes on packaging and determine the source of the food they're eating, using GPS data linked with the real-time supply chain.</p>
<p>Whether or not we're looking at a tech evolution where the Hamburglar eventually becomes a Hamhacker, Roberts <a href="http://www.cooperhewitt.org/tags/melody-roberts" target="_blank">has said</a> that the larger design industry approach to problem solving and innovation "has been welcomed in big cross-functional teams with tight deadlines in a situation they have to resolve."</p>
<p><strong>Read more pairings from <em>Fast Company</em>'s 10th Annual Innovation By Design issue:</strong> <br />
<ul>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016252/new-york-city-bloomberg-and-janette-sadik-khan" target="_self">Michael Bloomberg and Janette Sadik-Khan On The Future Of Walking, Biking, Driving</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016327/burberry-angela-ahrendts-and-christopher-bailey" target="_self">Burberry's Angela Ahrendts And Christopher Bailey On Trust</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016332/jawbone-hosain-rahman-and-yves-behar" target="_self">Dynamic Duos: Jawbone's Hosain Rahman And Yves Béhar On The Power Of Trust</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016330/flipboard-mike-mcCue-and-marcos-weskamp" target="_self">Flipboard's Mike McCue and Marcos Weskamp On Spiraling Toward Solutions</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016310/pepsico-indra-nooyi-and-mauro-porcini" target="_self">PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi And Mauro Porcini On Design-Led Innovation</a></span></li>
<li><span>5 <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016313/design-50/dynamic-duos-5-brilliant-business-lessons-from-warby-parkers-ceos" target="_self">Brilliant Business Lessons From Warby Parker's CEOs</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019340/design-50/dynamic-duos-marriotts-arne-sorenson-and-hotelier-ian-schrager-on-marrying-busines" target="_self">Dynamic Duos: Marriott's Arne Sorenson and Hotelier Ian Schrager On Marrying Business Cultures</a></span></li>
<li><span> <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018688/dynamic-duos-howard-schultz-and-arthur-rubinfeld-on-sharing-a-starbucks-order" target="_self">Howard Schultz and Arthur Rubinfeld On Sharing A Starbucks Order</a>
<a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018685/design-50/dynamic-duos-herman-millers-brian-walker-and-don-goeman-on-unplanning-ideas" target="_self"><br /></span></li>
<li><span>[url=http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018685/design-50/dynamic-duos-herman-millers-brian-walker-and-don-goeman-on-unplanning-ideas]Herman Miller's Brian Walker And Don Goeman On Unplanning Ideas</a>[/url]</span></li>
</ul></p>Mark Ellwoodhttp://www.fastcodesign.com/3019637http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019637/design-50/dynamic-duos-don-thompson-and-melody-roberts-of-mcdonalds-on-serving-billions?partner=rss
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019637/design-50/dynamic-duos-don-thompson-and-melody-roberts-of-mcdonalds-on-serving-billions?partner=rss#commentsWed, 16 Oct 2013 19:30 +0000burgerschicagoco.design 50Cooper-Hewitt National Design MuseumDon ThompsonDynamic Duosgps dataHamburglarIDEOJenna LyonskitchensMarissa MayerMartha StewartMcDeliveryMcDonald'sMelody RobertsNational Design AwardsRomeovilleShaker Friessupply chaintim gunnYves BeharDesign 50Dynamic Duos: Howard Schultz And Arthur Rubinfeld On Sharing A Starbucks Order<p><strong>Howard Schultz,</strong> chairman and CEO<br />
<strong>Arthur Rubinfeld,</strong> president of global development and chief creative officer</p>
<p><strong>Schultz:</strong> He has a rare combination of architectural education and experience, entrepreneurial curiosity and the ability from a creative point of view to see around corners.</p>
<p><strong>Rubinfeld:</strong> Though we are often not in the same meetings at the same time, we have an understanding of when the other one would approve or have additional comments. We're not reluctant to disagree when it comes to business.</p>
<p>"I love him." In case Howard Schultz's affection for longtime creative lead Arthur Rubinfeld was in doubt, he reiterates, re-punctuates. "I. Love. Him."</p>
<p>The feeling is clearly mutual between the two ambitious Brooklynites who have steered the world's most famous coffee chain together for more than two decades. "He's like a brother to me," Rubinfeld adds to the lovefest.</p>
<p>The pair met in their early 20s, when they lived in the same apartment block in downtown New York. Rubinfeld was working as an architect, on projects like Harry Helmsley's Palace Hotel. ("I learned architecture is a great hobby and a tough profession," he tells Co.Design.) Schultz, meanwhile, was a salesman—first with Xerox, then with a Swedish maker of coffee machines. His interest was piqued by exceptionally high sales from one client, a café in the Pacific Northwest. <br />
<strong><br />
JOIN THE ROUND TABLE</strong></p>
<p>"Howard has what I call a very high CQ or Curiosity Quotient," Rubinfeld says. "He sees the big picture before others." It was certainly true in this case: In 1992, Schultz would recruit his old pal to help mastermind the creative side behind his new project, Starbucks. Together, they took the coffee chain global with both passion and fastidiousness—Rubinfeld required all tables be round because, he says, solo patrons don't feel lonely sitting at them. Apparently, the square kind is alienating.</p>
<aside class="pullquote"><q>We're not reluctant to disagree when it comes to business.</q></aside>
<p>By 2002, they had each decamped to new projects. But five years later, when Starbucks sales slumped for the first time, Schultz was recalled to stop the dripping profits. Naturally, he asked Rubinfeld to join him. In 2008, Rubinfeld was the one to tell his friend to make the momentous decision to shutter around 600 cafés, the first mass closures Starbucks had ever weathered. Schultz agreed, noting, "He has a rare combination of architectural education and experience, entrepreneurial curiosity and the ability from a creative point of view to see around corners."</p>
<p>That wave of shutdowns was not the duo's only risky move: The returning CEO famously closed every one of the cafés simultaneously for three hours on a Tuesday afternoon to retrain all baristas, and announced a Starbucks-branded instant coffee (internally known as JAWS, or Just Add Water and Stir) that was pilloried before anyone even tasted it. The instant brew, renamed VIA, is now a profits blockbuster, one of the cornerstones of a re-energized company that has regained financial and pop culture clout. It's largely thanks to the sixth-sense-like pairing of personalities at the top.</p>
<p><strong>STORE AS CREATIVE TEMPLATE</strong></p>
<p>Rubinfeld cites a recent redesign of the packaging for whole bean and ground coffee as typical of his working relationship with Schultz. "Though we are often not in the same meetings at the same time, we have an understanding of when the other one would approve or have additional comments." He adds, "We're not reluctant to disagree when it comes to business."</p>
<p>For Schultz, who says he and Rubinfeld "can finish each other's sentences," nothing demonstrates his favorite collaborator's design influence more than the newest store, at Oak &amp; Rush in Chicago. The two-story location has a hand-painted world map highlighting the coffee belt, walls and ceilings paneled with reclaimed wood planks, and a steampunkish Siren logo, five feet in diameter, that's composed from more than 7,000 nail heads. Downstairs is a more conventional daytime deliverer of caffeine; upstairs is an evening-focused space that also serves beer and wine.</p>
<p>"Arthur has great taste, but beyond that he understand pragmatically in an innate way what the customer will respond to," Schultz explains. "This store is serving as a design and creative template for the next evolution of Starbucks."</p>
<p>It also, of course, serves the Starbucks order the old friends share. Says Rubinfeld, "We both drink aged Sumatra drip coffee."</p>
<p><strong>Read more pairings from <em>Fast Company</em>'s 10th Annual Innovation By Design issue:</strong> <br />
<ul>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016252/new-york-city-bloomberg-and-janette-sadik-khan" target="_self">Michael Bloomberg and Janette Sadik-Khan On The Future Of Walking, Biking, Driving</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016327/burberry-angela-ahrendts-and-christopher-bailey" target="_self">Burberry's Angela Ahrendts And Christopher Bailey On Trust</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016332/jawbone-hosain-rahman-and-yves-behar" target="_self">Dynamic Duos: Jawbone's Hosain Rahman And Yves Béhar On The Power Of Trust</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016330/flipboard-mike-mcCue-and-marcos-weskamp" target="_self">Flipboard's Mike McCue and Marcos Weskamp On Spiraling Toward Solutions</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016310/pepsico-indra-nooyi-and-mauro-porcini" target="_self">PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi And Mauro Porcini On Design-Led Innovation</a></span></li>
<li><span>5 <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016313/design-50/dynamic-duos-5-brilliant-business-lessons-from-warby-parkers-ceos" target="_self">Brilliant Business Lessons From Warby Parker's CEOs</a></span></li>
<li><span><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3019340/design-50/dynamic-duos-marriotts-arne-sorenson-and-hotelier-ian-schrager-on-marrying-busines" target="_self">Dynamic Duos: Marriott's Arne Sorenson and Hotelier Ian Schrager On Marrying Business Cultures</a></span></li></ul></p>Mark Ellwoodhttp://www.fastcodesign.com/3018688http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018688/design-50/dynamic-duos-howard-schultz-and-arthur-rubinfeld-on-sharing-a-starbucks-order?partner=rss
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3018688/design-50/dynamic-duos-howard-schultz-and-arthur-rubinfeld-on-sharing-a-starbucks-order?partner=rss#commentsThu, 10 Oct 2013 18:00 +0000architectureArthur Rubinfeldbrooklynchicagoco.design 50coffeecoffee chainDynamic DuosHarry HelmsleyHoward Schultzinstant coffeeMark EllwoodOak & RushPackagingPalace HotelStarbucksSumatraVIAxeroxDesign 50